The Heart Of A Phoenix
by MatsuokaKiran
Summary: Azula must overcome her mental instability after the war, and Ty Lee may be the key to helping her recover... as well as the person she wants to stay by her side. Post war adventure, AU, TyZula yuri, ongoing.
1. Chapter 1: Death

**Setting/Summary:** Azula has spent years in a mental hospital, after being released into Ty Lee's care she must recover as well as redeem herself for her bloody past. Takes place after the great war, takes only the events of the original 3 season series as canon (so the setting is kind of alternate universe, though I do alter some minor details from the series to better fit the story). I would also like to note that I take events in a realistic light. Meaning that events from series are taken as they would have actually happened had the original media not been a kids TV show.

**Rating: **T for violence, dark psychological, and sexual (in the future) themes. Rating will most likely go up in later chapters.

**Author's Note**: This is my first fanfic ever (so input is appreciated! ^^). It was inspired by an artwork which is listed on my profile. I really struggled (and continue to struggle) with the character development. Try as I might, I cannot believe that Azula is truly some heartless psychopath that is incapable of emotion, or that Ty Lee is some airheaded idiot that doesn't understand the world around her. Ty Lee's outburst on Ember Island about her situation, and Azula's final hours in the the third season (as well as her own admission on Ember Island) forever changed my perception of both characters. So the Ty Lee and Azula you see here are the adults that have spawned from my imagination.

**The characters and premise are not mine, but this story is. **Enjoy!

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><p>She screamed, she bent fire at the sky, she cried. In the last hours of her would be reign everything she had ever tried to hide had been brought bubbling to the surface. It hadn't mattered to her how many thousands witnessed her slow descent into insanity, but she herself was faced with the painful truth, the truth she had tried for so long to burn away in the fires of battle.<p>

The ghosts that haunted her wouldn't leave, the visions that plagued her wouldn't stay quiet. What had she done to deserve the ire of these people? Why were they hounding her, even now, after so long? She had despised them before, and she despised them now.

Uncle, Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and her mother. She didn't care how much pain she had caused them, she had tortured two of them herself… even if their blood had mixed with her tears. Had Ty Lee seen her crying? Had Mai thought to pity her even as she beat her within an inch of her life? The idea was positively revolting. She might have expected their pity had she known how things would turn out, but she hadn't the clairvoyance to know that they could so easily return to haunt her.

Almost all of her time was occupied with trying to block out their voices, trying so hard to ignore their pleas. It was like with each repeated declaration of compassion her soul was slowly being torn apart. Their voices haunted her day and night. They didn't give her a moments peace, and it had only gotten worse after she had been confined to a cell.

With no light aside from a few candles, suffering from sensory deprivation she had slowly begun to lose what little ability to cope she had left. It was a chore to think, it was a pain to move from her bed, she cringed on the inside every time the door opened, not knowing who would enter next.

She had seen her father walk through the door multiple times only to spit contempt at her. She had seen Zuko victoriously walk through the door to offer his _sincere _apologies and wish that she get better. The worst was her mother. Azula had lost count of the times she had quietly walked through the door and sat down beside her bed. At first Azula had greeted her mother with with all the coldness and indifference she could muster, but that never lasted long. Ursa would begin to talk about the person she had been, who she was now, and everything in between. Azula would grind her teeth, clench her eyes shut, and manage three words. They had become her mantra when her mother visited her:

"I hate you. I hate you! I hate you!"

She would stumble off of her bed, collapse from the weakness in her limbs, and manage to bend fire at her mother. Only after she disappeared into silence would Azula allow herself to open her eyes again. She knew she would come again. The fear, the helplessness, and the other emotions made her sick. Her body would rebel, trying to empty the imagined toxins from her body. But Azula already knew before the spasms took her: she had nothing left to give.

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><p>She had been lost in her own mind for so long that it took her what seemed like weeks to realize that she was looking at seemingly real, but different surroundings. Had the air in her lungs ever felt so cold? Was the light from the window a trick of her mind? If it was she hoped that it would all end soon.<p>

Even if she seemed to be in a different room, the darkness had not left her. She could still feel the ghosts lurking at the back of her mind. She brought her hands to her head only to find her wrists shackled to the edges of her bed. She bit down to keep herself from screaming. Now she was even chained in her dreams? It was only fitting, she told herself. She had wrought her own failure, and her mind was weak.

Something was dripping downward from her mouth. Red was beginning to appear on her chest, even if her eyes weren't open to see it.

"Stop... please." said a voice.

Azula jerked her eyes open and turned her head to glare at the person she already knew was there.

"You. Why is it the empty headed traitor who must haunt my dreams? I don't care about your useless dribble, I only ever listened so that I could use you. The least you could do would be to disappear so that I can suffer this in peace." Azula was speaking through gritted teeth.

It had always tortured her to know that Ty Lee was the one that haunted her mind the most after her mother. Her mother was dead and gone, she despised her mother... but Ty Lee... she would have spit fire in her face if she hadn't been trying not to choke on her own blood.

"Azula, please... just... do you know where you are?" Ty Lee said, as if she were honestly expecting an answer.

Azula looked away from Ty Lee and realized she was looking out the window. What she saw shocked her beyond what she would have thought possible. In all her dreams, this one place had remained untouched, unrecalled by her wretched conscience as it sought to throw up every little memory as a stumbling block. It was almost as if her mind had been avoiding this place, trying to forget what had happened here so long ago... forget the truths she had spoken, and the ones she had heard.

After a while she heard Ty Lee's voice again, it was distant as if calling from out over the waves she could see beyond the window. Azula snapped her mouth shut and jerked her head around to look at Ty Lee.

The girls face was distraught, there was worry written on her features, and her eyes showed a combination of sadness and hope.

"I didn't know how you would react... it took forever to convince Zuko and Aang to even consider letting you stay here. And even then..." she stopped short, moving her head around slightly as if to get a better look at Azula's face.

The realization was slowly beginning to dawn on Azula... could this be real? It had to be, never before had she dreamt of Ember Island, never before had she dreamt of Ty Lee clad in green... her mind had never seen fit to conjure up anything like it. When had she ever seen Ty Lee wear green?

Her eyes wouldn't focus. She wasn't crying, but her surroundings seemed to repeatedly blur and then become clear again. She stared off into the distance trying to desperately right her vision, but nothing was helping. In a moment of weakness she raised her hand and felt the distracting tug of chains again.

This was beyond cruel, this trick was... but it wasn't a trick, and that was the worst part.

Finally her vision went beyond blurring, and she felt herself falling to the sound of Ty Lee's voice. Shortly after Ty Lee's voice had gone silent it was replaced by others, as if to send her faster into the depths of the abyss.


	2. Chapter 2: Dreams

**Author's Note:** I kind of felt guilty about posting chapters 1, 2, and 3 separately since they kind of function as a prologue of sorts, but I didn't want to make it all into one chapter either... regardless, here is chapter 2. Also my Azula tends to be more vulnerable than other iterations, _and_... this is our first tidbit of TyZula! I also did some minor detail altering in this chapter, but only minor. And upon reread, I just realized that I did some self contradiction in this chapter... let's hope it isn't too jarring and you can still enjoy it! ^_^

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><p>She awakened on the beach at night. She was clothed in a casual red shirt and skirt. Her hair was out of its characteristic topknot, mostly flowing down her back while some of it was held at the top of her head by a golden cord.<p>

She knew this was a trick of her mind. When she still had possession of her sanity she had revisited this moment countless times. Whether or not she had been trying to rationalize it all away, desensitize herself to the words said on that night, or whether she thought to bask in the knot of emotions that had been created in her chest, she couldn't decide. All she knew was that this was the last place she wanted to be now.

Knowing even before it happened, she heard soft footsteps from behind her. She jumped to her feet, unconsciously following the events of the night like it had been a script. She found herself slipping into her role easily, the one memory in her broken mind that she couldn't bring herself to loath like all the others.

"Azula, what are you doing? If you sleep on the beach you will catch a cold silly!" Ty Lee scolded her. Her eyes were lit with playful enthusiasm, still high from the night's entertainment.

"You think I don't know that!" Azula snapped back. She knew that was how she was supposed to reply, she didn't know any other way. Why did Ty Lee never leave her alone?

She turned away from Ty Lee and back to the sea. She stared across the vast waters, trying to count as many stars as she could as fast as she could.

The wind suddenly picked up, and her hair was tossed messily in her face. Wretched hair, she didn't even know why she kept it long. She should cut it all off and be done with it, the unruly tresses were only ever manageable in a topknot.

A gentle hand stopped hers as she reached up to brush her hair away.

"I think your long hair is beautiful." Ty Lee said, her face devoid of her usual lighthearted and airheaded attitude. Had Azula really said all of that out loud?

Azula jerked away. Ty Lee always complimented her... but this was different, different in a way she couldn't place. It made her beyond uncomfortable, and all she wanted to do was get away. She turned and strode down the length of the beach, her long strides covering the sands.

She heard a voice behind her, but ignored it, concentrating on putting as much strength into her stride as she could. She only stopped when she reached a group of boulders that were down the seashore from her house.

She stopped, her arms at her sides and her hands bunched into fists. As her breathing slowed she walked to a low boulder near by and sat down.

The weight of a nation, the expectations of her father, the hatred of her mother, the fearful contempt of her friends. She couldn't help but see what others thought of her, even if she had convinced herself long ago she didn't care. After years of manipulating those around her and being manipulated, she had seemed to internalize all of their perceptions about her. Her perfection, their fear of her, even the disdain for a leader younger than those that surrounded her.

She told herself that none of it mattered, that consideration and attachment were a weakness that would never advance her goals. But she felt an uncharacteristic weakness nonetheless... she felt the weight of her father's expectations and a world wishing to see her fail.

She looked up as she noticed the brightening of the sky, and rose to make her way back to the beach house. The last of the stars winked out as she slowly walked the last hundred meters to the porch.

Looking up, she unconsciously jerked her head backwards at the sight before her. The movement might have gone unnoticed by most people except the girl in front of her.

Ty Lee rose to her feet, her eyes sunken from lack of sleep and her hair messy because of the wind.

Azula made as if to walk past her up the stairs to the house. She didn't even bother to glance at Ty Lee as she walked by, but suddenly she found herself falling backwards, unable to explain or stop what was happening.

In the next instant Ty Lee was pinning her to the ground, her hands on Azula's shoulders. Azula made as if to push her bodily off, and was conjuring up something that would surely make the girl burst into tears but she stopped short... the look in Ty Lee's eyes was the same as the one from earlier that night.

"Why do both of our lives have to be lies? Do you want us to lie to each other? Because of you... You are my friend Azula. Why do you always run away?" Ty Lee had done her best to keep her voice steady, but after the first sentence her voice had begun to shake.

Azula had decided to forgo the usual insults, and sat up beneath Ty Lee as she started to push her off, but Ty Lee drew her face so close that her grey eyes were directly in front of Azula's and Azula stopped mid movement.

She could smell Ty Lee over the scent of the sea now. She smelled faintly of flowers, spice and sweat. Her eyes glowed with a light she had only ever seen hidden behind her usually untroubled attitude.

Azula had never really felt fear before, or at least not like this. All the unknown and unwanted emotions from earlier that night came rushing back. She tried to regain control of her limbs, but the arms propping herself up underneath Ty Lee wouldn't move.

"I wasn't the one who ran away from their problems and joined a circus." but her voice lacked its usual bite. She steeled herself and opened her mouth again to speak.

Ty Lee didn't seem to be paying attention as she closed her eyes and put her hands on Azula's shoulders. Seemingly taking the princess's open mouth as an invitation, she pulled her into a kiss.

Azula's eyes remained open, but unseeing, she could feel her pulse pounding in her ears. This was a horrible joke, a way for Ty Lee to get a laugh out of her or an attempt to prove something to Mai.

As Ty Lee drew back, opening her eyes, she muttered something almost inaudible:

"I love you Azula."

Everything came crashing down. She wanted to fight, to fling Ty Lee off her and make her cower in fear... but all she could do was close her mouth.

Ty Lee looked as if she expected something from the princess, even if it was a cutting insult, but all Azula did was stare at her. Minutes passed that seemed like days, and Ty Lee began to shrink back from the princess's eyes. Ty Lee stood up, balled her fists at her sides, eyes shining with unshed tears and ran inside.

Azula didn't even seem to notice. She sat there unmoving, still staring at where Ty Lee had been just moments ago. She fought to calm herself, to stop the drumming against her temples, and to crush the feeling that was eating away at her chest. Finally she pulled her feet underneath her to push herself up from the sand, and turned back to the beach house.

She started to walk towards the steps of the building, but the distance didn't shrink. She kept walking and walking, but it never got closer. Finally Azula looked up from the perplexing distance between herself and the beach house and examined the building again.

Suddenly it burst into blue flame. She couldn't stop herself, she started running. What had happened? Mai and Zuko, Ty Lee...

As she ran faster she began to hear screams. It was Ty Lee who was screaming, but so was Mai... and someone else... Suddenly Ty Lee's face appeared in the impossibly high blue flames. Her features were marred with blood and her hair was soaked, in some parts it had been ripped out completely. Azula almost stumbled, recognizing the scene that was playing out in the flames before her. Knowing the hands that were raised against her friend.

Azula stopped abruptly, trying to cover her face in those same hands, trying desperately to blot out this dream turned nightmare. But she saw that her hands were covered in blood.

It was then that she realized the other voice screaming was her's.

Finally, mercifully, the flames swallowed her up as well.


	3. Chapter 3: Dedication

**Author's** **Note:** I would like to thank all the people that take the time to read this! You are all great, especially the people that help me improve with reviews! (I value constructive criticism) I was reading another fic today and read the author's note which said the author was sorry for not responding to reviews and I was like "Omg, have I been snubbing my readers?!" so I promise to be better about that in the future! Also I have been having a friend proofread my stories, and when I sent her Chapter 3 she was like "not enough action, too much introspection"... so this is the last chapter where the main focus is mental struggles, the next one is more 'action-y'. Also note that I did some more minor detail altering. Enjoy! ^_^

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><p>As she first began to regain consciousness, all she could feel was a throbbing in her head.<p>

She opened her eyes, trying to focus them on the ceiling above her. The pain seemed to inhibit her waking, and she groaned as she attempted to sit up. There was light streaming in through the window next to her, and she could hear waves gently splashing against the shore.

Thinking back to the last thing she remembered, she remembered her dream. She remembered hearing her own voice screaming even though she was sure her mouth hadn't been moving.

The throbbing in her head got worse. Her eyes smarted and she gritted her teeth in pain. She pressed the heels of her hands against her face, pushing as hard as she could, trying to make the pain go away. Her wrists felt heavy and she could feel shackles rattling about her wrists, but there were no longer any chains connecting her to her bed.

But the pain got worse, it only ever got worse. And voices seemed to spring up out of the corners of the room.

_Failure._

_Inadequate._

_Monster..._

With the last utterance the pounding in her head became unbearable. Her eyes started to water from the pain behind them, and her body instinctively balled itself up in the fetal position.

She had to stop the voices in her mind. If she could stop the endless nagging of her demons she knew her pain would subside as well.

Drawing her hands away from her head and pushing the hair out of her eyes, she looked around her blurrily. She searched for something in her surroundings, anything. A few meters away she spotted a washstand, upon which rested a bowl and a few towels.

_Fear. _She had wielded it like a tool, like so many of the people she had used. She had thought that was the only way, to use fear on those around her... but the fear that was so familiar to her now was completely different.

Rolling out of bed and onto the floor, she hit with a soft thud and struggled to her hands and knees.

She reached out, stretching her arm as much as she could and jerkily pulled the washstand to her, slopping water onto the wooden floor. When it was close enough to her she used the legs and stretchers of the stand to haul herself up into a kneeling position.

_Love_. She flinched at the word, gripping the edges of the stand so hard that the water in the bowl before her began to shake. She hadn't loved her entire life, she despised it, saw it as a weakness. No one had ever loved her, she had had to take everything she wanted by force. If something was given to her, it was because she fought for it, she deserved it, not because of petty emotions. Not even her mother had said that she loved Azula, not even...

She hunched herself over the washstand, trying to forget the memories the dream of last night had recalled. That cheerful and carefree face clouded her vision, dancing before her eyes. Her usually playful eyes serious.

She plunged her head into the washbasin. Magically the voices stopped and the pain began to edge away, if only slightly. She held her face underwater, relishing in the peace it brought. For one split second she thought to inhale the water before her, but her body rebelled and she felt herself catapulted backwards by her own instincts.

She fell against the bed and slid down to the floor. Coughing and sputtering, her hair was soaked, and the thin white shirt she wore began to absorb the water dripping from her face.

Pulling the wet hair out of her face, she looked around the room. It was familiar, and yet strange. She hadn't been here in what seemed like forever and the memories it brought back threatened to tear down her momentary clarity of mind.

The room was made entirely of wood, like the rest of the house. The walls were mostly left bare with no paint or ornaments, while most of the furnishings were painted a deep red. There weren't many of them, in the years it had been since she had lived here most of the furniture had rotted away and what little was left made the room seem spartan.

She struggled to her feet, using the bed to support her weakened limbs. It was only then that she noticed the shackles around her ankles. The length of chain between them was short, and made it hard to move her legs.

She gradually made her way to the doorway and stopped when she smelled food. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten and her stomach seemed to lurch against her spine as her mouth watered. She put a hand to her abdomen to try and dull the pain, and felt the prominent edges of her ribs underneath. She grimaced. Her time in a cell had made her weak, but that would change.

She slowly made her way down the long corridor that led to the kitchen and pantry. She moved carefully, trying not to fall or trip as she walked. She had almost made it halfway to the entryway of the kitchen when her chains caught on a board that had sprung itself from its nails. She instinctively brought up her hands to break her fall, but as they struck the floor a searing pain shot out from her wrists. Her outstretched arms slowed her fall only a little, and her head smacked into the floorboards.

Groaning she rolled over and put a hand to her face. Her forehead stung and she pulled her hand away with blood on her fingertips. She gritted her teeth, willing herself to get up, slowly and carefully pushing herself to her feet with the aid of the wall.

As she turned to go back down the hallway she recognized a doorway off to the side on the opposite wall. It was a large arched doorway, with ornate double doors that had once been painted red. The paint had started to flake and the handles were rusty, but she knew what lay beyond it.

She pushed the doors open with a slow creaking sound and walked out onto the decking that lined the walls of the room. The room was large and empty, with a series of sliding doors that made up the far wall. They were open, letting in sunlight and exposing the small unkept garden that was behind the house.

She could still remember the warm summer days when she, Ty Lee, and Mai had spent hours playing, reading, or studying their school texts for when classes resumed. She had hated watching Ty Lee practice stretches and handstands, the girl smiling all the while. Azula would laugh and smirk at her whenever she fell over, but Ty Lee would always tearfully get back up and try again. That had been one of the things that had drawn Azula to Ty Lee, her dedication was a useful asset… or so she had thought.

Azula had put her trust in Ty Lee, her above anyone else. She could still remember her own stupidity at the Boiling Rock. As Azula had faced off against Mai she had turned her back to Ty Lee, showing a moment of weakness… of trust. She wouldn't make the same mistake again.

She could feel the energy flowing through her body, the heat that was building up near her hands. She was on the verge of setting the room on fire, not caring what damage it caused to the rest of the house or herself, when she heard Ty Lee's voice behind her.

"Azula?!"

Caught in the middle of remembering this very person's betrayal, she tried to spin around, to bring Ty Lee into her line of sight, but the chains at her feet hampered her movement. Halfway turned around she fell, landing at the top of the stairs that led down into the room.

Ty Lee ran forward with one of her hands outstretched, reaching down to help Azula to her feet. She was dressed in a lightweight green kimono that seemed designed for ease of movement and not protection. She was taller than Azula remembered, and her features were different, changing her into a pretty young women instead of the girl Azula remembered.

Azula raised her hands, willing herself to recall the rage she had possessed just moments ago. Slowly blue flame sputtered to life in her hands, and she thrust them out at Ty Lee trying with all her might to incinerate the girl. But her movements were slow and labored, lack of practice preventing her from swiftly attacking. Ty Lee grabbed her arms just below her manacles, applying pressure with her fingers that made Azula's arms twitch and the flames in her palms die.

The once foreign feeling of helplessness swept over her.

"Let go of me!" she screamed.

"Azula, listen to me, please. I ‒ "

"Why? Why..." Azula said through bared teeth. She hated the look on Ty Lee's face, she hated everything about her. Her eyes, her braided hair, her coddling expression.

"Your brother is giving you a second chance, we convinced him to let ‒ "

"No! Why did you... " she hated that she had to force these words out, that she was looking up into Ty Lee's face, practically begging her to answer. Had she still had the power she once did... but she had to know. She didn't know why, but it had been eating away at her for a lifetime. If she could just find an answer...

Ty Lee lowered her head and loosened her grip on Azula's arms.

"I was tired of staying silent, I was tired of watching what you had become. You may not have been able to see it, but what you were ‒"

"I was the most powerful person in the Fire Nation! Countries bowed to my will!"

"And you were prepared to kill your own friends!?" Ty Lee was looking at Azula's face again as she spoke. "I thought if I stood up to you, maybe I could save the people I loved... and save you too."

Azula laughed.

"Save me? You? A circus freak like you? You're pathetic, I don't need you. Leave Ty Lee, just leave." Azula couldn't keep her eyes open, her head had begun to hurt and the throbbing from earlier had returned.

"No! I wouldn't have left before if you hadn't sent me to prison, and I am not going to leave now. This is the first time I have spoken to you in years! You have a second chance!"

_I think you're confused, all of your life you have used fear to control people..._

_But what choice do I have, trust is for fools..._

_You miscalculated, I love you more than I fear you..._

_I love you Azula._

Azula jerked free of Ty Lee's grip and pushed her away, almost sending herself down the stairs in the process. Her shoulders shook. She was trying to build herself back up, trying to prepare herself for the inevitable. Her head pounded and her heart beat abnormally in her chest.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed as the voices took root in her mind. She wanted to look up at Ty Lee, to try and find her face among the shadows, but she was too afraid to open her eyes.

"Leave me alone..." she whispered again. Her body was wracked with sobs, and tears started to fall from her eyes. She felt helpless, she felt alone.

She felt the sensation of falling again, falling through darkness to the voices in her head. She felt the cold fingers of fear and despair grab her and pull her downward. But suddenly she felt a gentle touch, as if someone was reaching out to her across the abyss. It pulled her upwards, and she felt like water was rushing over her. Suddenly she felt that she could breath again, she felt warmth, she felt arms encircling her.

She was sobbing, but she no longer felt afraid. She no longer felt alone.

With her head resting on Ty Lee's chest, all she could hear was the sound of her own crying.


	4. Chapter 4: A New Leaf

**Author's Note:** Azula begins to fire bend again in this chapter, I know we all loved the sequence where Zuko learned to bend without his anger, but I feel like exploring that (extensively) would detract too much from what I want to do. Also, I have always thought Azula looked like her father, so mature Azula (in my mind) looks more like Ozai than Ursa (but still very feminine, she has that harsh beauty thing). Anyway, chapter 5 will also be up in about 5 minutes, so enjoy!

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><p>Azula breathed in the cold air that was being blown in off the sea. The mist from the waves was caught by the wind and whipped against her face. She could just begin to feel the power of the sun as it emerged above the edge of the horizon.<p>

She sat on the beach, meditating, her eyes closed, trying to focus all her energy on her breaths. She tensed her abdomen, and then relaxed again. Breathing was essential to fire bending, it motivated the power that would become flame.

Her mind, which had been the cause of so much turmoil, had finally begun to find some small measure of peace. She still suffered from bouts of darkness, and would sometimes wake up and remember nothing of the previous day, but things were better now than they had been in... years. It hadn't felt like years, but she couldn't deny the way Ty Lee had aged... the way she had aged.

She tried to keep her breath even and steady, fighting down the feeling of panic that crept up from her stomach. Even if she had had new life breathed into her when she had been held by Ty Lee, she could not forget the time she had spent in her hospital room, suffering.

But she had a new purpose, something else besides war that was constantly on her mind. She had never felt this way before, and though she didn't know if she could ever put her trust in the girl again, she knew that Ty Lee mattered, somehow. She had to hold onto this just a little while longer.

She opened her eyes and rose to her feet, turning to the sun as it rose fully above the horizon. She took up her stance, feet spread apart, arms low, guarding her core. She brought a foot forward, extended her arms and flowed through her basic forms. She could feel the energy of the sun amplifying her own power. As she entered the final form she extended both arms outward, one in front and one behind. The moment the movement began she willed herself to life, channeling energy up out of her core and through her limbs. Blue fire burst from her hand.

Completing the exercise, she brought her hands together and closed her eyes. Though it didn't show, she felt ecstatic, she alive, she felt… she opened her eyes and looked at the rising sun. She felt powerful again.

She ran up the beach and slowed to a walk as the house came into view, looking up at the windows. She knew Ty Lee must be awake by now, and there was smoke coming from the back of the house where the kitchen was situated.

She ignored the two guards that sat on the stairs leading up to the house. Even if they weren't always in sight she knew she was constantly being watched. The fact that they kept themselves hidden for her sake made her want to melt the helmets on their heads, but she held back.

She jumped up the stairs and pushed open the door, removing her sandals and making her way to the back of the house where there the kitchen and pantry were.

As she walked in she saw Ty Lee talking to the one servant who was allowed near Azula.

"Azula! Come here I want to show you something!"

"Ty Lee, I am not going to ‒"

"I know, I know. Come on!" She said grabbing Azula's arm.

After some momentary resistance, she relaxed and let herself be pulled along. One of the few things that hadn't changed was Ty Lee's inexhaustible supply of energy. But even as she thought of how annoying Ty Lee was, she knew that her warmth was what had been her beacon of hope in a dark place.

They arrived in Azula's bedroom, and Ty Lee opened up a lightweight wooden box, exposing a tailored winter kimono underneath.

"...Its blue." Azula said bluntly.

"So? Look, it has golden stitching and there is a golden dragon on the collar!" Ty Lee seemed quite pleased with herself, happily holding up the garment for Azula to examine.

"I am royalty of the Fire Nation, I don't wear blue." In truth she hadn't worn anything but the rags from the mental institution and the simple clothes that she wore now. She didn't like blue, but the clothes looked expensive. Fit for a princess.

"Hmm..." Ty Lee mumbled, holding up the kimono next to Azula as if to gauge the twos compatibility.

"Is there a reason you want me to wear this? It had better not be one of those cursed plays." She said, dreading the answer.

"There is a festival tomorrow and I want you to come with me. There will be fireworks and food stands. It will be fun!"

Azula wracked her brain, trying to remember if there was a local custom about a festival during this time of year.

"I don't remember there being a festival. Maybe one of the locals lied to you."

Ty Lee lowered the kimono and folded it back into the box slowly, as if stalling for time.

"I-Its the three year celebration of the treaty that ended the war..." she said turning back to Azula, looking up at her. "But I don't think of it that way, I think of it as a celebration of us, of how both of us have turned over a new leaf."

Azula looked at Ty Lee. She had changed, not just her calling, but her personality too. She was still the lively girl she had once been, but her youth had been tempered by effects of the war... more than likely one of those being the weeks she had spent in prison.

Ty Lee lifted up her hand, softly settling her fingers on Azula's cheek. When Ty Lee's fingers first made contact, Azula twitched slightly. A hurt expression flitted across Ty Lee's face, but it was soon gone.

Azula willed herself to stillness, trying to decide if she should bat Ty Lee's hand away or reach out with her own. She was afraid of what would happen if she reached out to Ty Lee, but at the same time didn't want to upset the influence she had with the girl.

"Fine, if you insist, we will go to the festival." she said simply.

* * *

><p>Azula sat in front of a mirror in her room as Ty Lee combed her hair. When she had first come to Ember Island her hair had been a ragged and tangled mess, but after weeks of having Ty Lee wash, comb, and oil her hair, it had reclaimed most of its former sheen. It was longer than it had once been, reaching a good ways past her shoulders. And though she was just entering adulthood, there were grey hairs at the edges or her hairline. In the past she might have cared, even been furious, but there were a lot of things that didn't bother her anymore.<p>

"There. All done!" said Ty Lee as she patted Azula's head one last time. Ty Lee had a huge smile on her face and bowed slightly as Azula stood up.

Ty Lee had pinned her hair at the back of her head, and it fell neatly down her back. Her kimono was the dark blue one from before, the gold threading making her eyes flash. Her eyes looked too much like her father's. Everything about her face reminded her of her father. Her features were sharper than most, more pronounced. She wasn't a girl someone would call beautiful, not after she had become aged beyond her years.

Azula turned around and Ty Lee looked her over again.

"You do look beautiful." Ty Lee beamed. "Come on, we need to hurry or we are going to miss the fireworks display."

The festival was situated close to the docks that were the main access point of the island. Crowds of people were gathered around different venues, some where poems were being recited, others where there was a puppet show, all the while merchants were hawking their wares to the passers-by.

If anyone recognized Azula or if she looked out of place, her dressed in blue, Ty Lee dressed in green, the both of them being escorted by two soldiers, no one openly took notice.

As the light continued to fade and the stars began to come out in the sky, the crowds got denser and the festival became noisier. People who had been working elsewhere had now arrived for the main event, the fireworks.

Suddenly as Ty Lee and Azula were walking down a crowded street, Azula grabbed hold of Ty Lee's arm and pulled her into an alley, running as fast as she could.

"Azula! What ‒"

"Be quiet Ty Lee!" She hissed as she pulled Ty Lee down another intersecting alleyway. She stopped and back looked around the corner, checking to see if the soldiers had followed them. She turned back to Ty Lee, her breath fogging the air in front of her.

"I don't like being watched like a pet. Come on." she said gesturing to Ty Lee.

Azula jumped on top of a large wooden bin that was sitting in the alley, and then jumped again, using the roof of the building beside them to pull herself up on top of it. She turned around, looking back at Ty Lee who was still standing in the alleyway.

"Are you coming or not? I thought you didn't want to miss the pretty lights?"

Ty Lee smiled, jumping on top of the bin and climbing on top of the roof beside Azula. The two of them moved across the roof, and jumped to an adjacent building, making their way closer to the area where the fireworks would be set off.

Azula heard a loud screech and suddenly the night sky was lit up by bursts of red and yellow. Both girls stopped running across the roof they were on and looked up at the sky, watching the fireworks as they continued to explode.

Ty Lee moved closer to Azula, slowly taking the princess's hand in hers.

Azula tensed.

"Whatever it is your thinking about Ty Lee, I don't want to hear it." she bit out, her voice perfectly steady.

Ty Lee giggled.

"Oh it wasn't going to be that bad. Just the usual about the fireworks being pretty, me being happy, and us being together."

She laughed outright when Azula glared over at her.

Being happy... Azula couldn't remember a time when she had ever truly been happy. Of course she had had what she wanted. She had power, influence... but she would have been lying to herself if she said that the years spent fighting had brought her happiness. And her brief time as Fire Lord was something she wanted to forget completely.

_Happiness is for fools. _Isn't that something she would say? Everything about her life, her childhood, her detached mother, her years in war, and her years in darkness... almost everything she had ever known told her this was true, but she didn't say anything.

Slowly her muscles relaxed, and she unclenched the hand that was in Ty Lee's, letting the girl further entwine their fingers. The two of them stood silently, watching the lights in the night sky.

* * *

><p>After the fireworks display, the two of them had climbed down from the rooftops and left the festival discretely, making their way back to the beach.<p>

As they rounded a point of land sticking out into the sea, the beach house came into view. The outer fires were lit and there appeared to be two groups of guards standing in front of the stairs. Azula heard raised voices.

"They are probably getting scolded because of us." Ty Lee murmured guiltily.

"I would think their pride would be hurt worse than anything else." Azula said. Even if it was only a small victory, she felt a small amount of satisfaction in getting a bit of well deserved revenge against her captors. Not to mention they were just plain incompetent.

As they drew nearer Azula could begin to make out the fine details of the guards gathered. One group was dressed in regular Fire Nation uniforms, the other group was dressed in different attire. The high shoulder guards and excessive amount of gold plating on their armor revealed them for what they were: personal servants of the Fire Lord, her brother.

She tensed, whatever it was it couldn't be good. She was lucid for the first time in three years and as such she posed a threat to her brother. And more than likely, he didn't care if she actually had any intention of reclaiming the throne.

"Azula, whatever it is, we can handle it. It will be ok." Ty Lee said, looking over at Azula worriedly.

"Don't treat me like a child Ty Lee, I am more than capable of handling whatever it is myself." she snapped. She had fallen back into her old habits, even if she knew that wasn't the right thing to say to Ty Lee.

She didn't look over at the other girl, instead she focused all of her attention on the soldiers they were approaching. As they made their way closer, the two soldiers standing guard on the house showed relief at seeing them. They motioned towards the two girls and the group of royal guards immediately made their way to them. They were led by an older woman with a shaved head. She appeared to be a diplomat, dressed in dark red clothes and not armor.

The woman raised her hand palm upward and bent a small ball of fire in front of her, raising it as she examined the two girls.

"It's been a long time Ty Lee." she said. The girl smiled falteringly, dipping into a small bow.

"Princess Azula," she said turning to Azula, "you are required to appear in a hearing regarding your search for the Phoenix Spirit during the Great War." She handed a scroll to Azula, it had the seals of delegates from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation.

"We are to leave immediately."

The Phoenix Spirit? She had never heard about it before in her life.


	5. Chapter 5: History

**Author's Note:** Is a salamander slug a thing? Oh well, it is now! Unfortunately there is very little TyZula this chapter, sorry. But there will be much more in upcoming chapters! And as a kind of preface to this chapter I would like to give a shout out to all the people who fight for women's rights in the world. The Avatar universe has done a lot to confront sexism, but if you spend any time in public situations anywhere you know sexism is still a very serious problem. So on that somber note, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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><p>Azula stared up at the night sky, watching the clouds as they blotted out stars in their passing. She was standing on the deck of a ship, much like the ones she herself had used during the war. It was the type of ship that was used to carry important people or information, the design and engines rumbling below her insured that it could travel distances both fastly and efficiently. The vessel was a feat of engineering, one of the many that had helped her nation dominate the world for decades.<p>

Even though the ship provided a comfortable ride, cutting through the waves like butter, Azula had spent most of the journey above deck. The first night she had spent on the ship she had been assigned a small cabin somewhere below deck. It wasn't luxurious, but fitting for a person of lesser importance who the captain might want to keep contained.

The guards had closed and locked the door behind them, and Azula had assumed a meditation position on her bed, trying to concentrate on her breathing. But the room was oppressive, with its dark steel interior and deep red light that cast shadows on the walls… the shadows had slowly begun to morph into people, and her chest had tightened, disrupting her breathing exercise. She had gotten up, stumbling to the door as she tried to draw air into her lungs. When she had reached the door, she beat on it weakly telling the guards that she needed a different room. Of course they had scoffed at her, telling her that she wouldn't get the royal treatment this time. But she had continued to beat on the door, unable to form words anymore.

After some time the guards had finally opened the door, fully expecting the princess to set them on fire and flee, only to find her kneeling in a pool of her own vomit, clutching her chest and trying to maintain consciousness. The surprised guards had tried to haul Azula to her feet, repeatedly asking her what was wrong, but she had resisted, simply telling them to bring her Ty Lee. Finally they had complied and brought Ty Lee to Azula, who had been able to convince them (in a somewhat emotional display) to let Azula have free roam of the ship. It only made sense, Ty Lee had said, only an idiot would jump ship and try to escape in the middle of the churning Fire Nation seas… of course, both women had neglected to tell their captors that Azula had done just that many years ago when dealing with a band of local pirates. Azula had survived, but the pirates and their ship had not.

So here the princess was, standing proud and alone in the middle of the night. After the first day, the soldiers hadn't bothered to guard her anymore, and she spent her nights in the cold air with her undisturbed thoughts. Occasionally Ty Lee would stir herself from her bed to check on Azula, but she would only stay for a few minutes before returning to her room.

Azula was examining a particularly fluffy cloud above her in the night sky, trying to decide if it looked like a mermaid splashing in the sea, or a sinking battle ship with its crew drowning in the frothing waters, when she heard the definitive clack of boot heels as someone approached from the stern of the ship. Azula turned to see who it was, her sharp eyes making out the slim form of the hairless diplomat as she approached.

"Strange, I would have thought that you would drop dead from lack of sleep by now, even if what Ty Lee told me was true." she said, moving to stand beside Azula at the guardrail of the ship.

Biting back her curiosity, and her disgust at realizing she cared about what Ty Lee had said in the first place, she replied:

"Its not hard to stay awake for long periods of time when you have the ghosts of petty people like you haunting your dreams."

The older woman chuckled.

"You have all the bite of the famed princess, but you are somehow different… "

"What did you expect? A baby eating salamander slug?" Azula didn't know why the woman wanted to interrupt her relative peace and annoy her, but it was high time she was gone.

"Maybe." she said smiling.

Azula changed tactics, turning away from the woman and keeping silent in hopes that she would take the hint and leave her alone.

"My name is Ning, princess, in case you didn't remember, and the reason I came here tonight is because I think it's only fair that you show up at the royal palace… reasonably informed. As a former military leader I am sure you know the risks of diving headlong into a situation without any knowledge of your surroundings?"

This was different. After she had been moved to Ember Island and had begun to recover mentally, Ty Lee had refused to talk about the war or about her brother's rule of the kingdom. She had probably avoided them because of the pain it caused both of them, hoping not to reopen the wounds that had healed so miraculously.

Azula turned back to the diplomat and stared at her intently.

"So, just how much has my brother screwed up the Fire Nation?"

"Well, he has almost bankrupted the nation trying to make reparations for the wrongs committed by the Fire Nation's armies. He has been working with the Avatar to try and broker a treaty that would allow some of the Fire Nation settlers to keep their homes in foreign lands. And he has been struggling to replace all the people that were found guilty of war crimes. Though I must say, he isn't doing too bad actually. Thanks in no small part to us."

"Us?"

Ning looked over at Azula, scrunching her eyebrows at the princess. Azula wanted to throw her bodily into the sea, but she needed to play this game to get information.

"Surely you realized that you were the only woman of power in the military? It was a similar situation in the other areas of government. So naturally when Firelord Zuko convened the war crimes trials, most of those executed and imprisoned were males. It left a gaping hole in the bureaucracy, and the people that stepped up to rebuild the nation were predominantly women. I suppose it is something of a cultural movement, people in the Earth Kingdom call us the 'fire roses'."

Azula narrowed her eyes at the woman. She knew only too well what the military had been like. The only reasons she had been accepted as a commander had been her intellect and severity. Some had said her royal blood helped, but anyone who had known Ozai knew that he didn't tolerate incompetence, even among family.

"Well? Is that what this is all about? Am I to be put on trial so the world can slake their blood lust?"

"No, you are coming back for an entirely different reason. Not that they didn't want your head on a plate… literally. But the Firelord and Avatar were able to convince them otherwise. I would say there are three people you owe an unpayable debt to princess. Firelord Zuko, Avatar Aang, and… Ty Lee." Ning had put emphasis on the last name, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see what Azula's reaction might be.

"I am sure you don't remember, but I was the person that oversaw your hospitalization, among other things. I spent years calling upon the most revered doctors around the country, trying to find someway to help you, but it wasn't until Ty Lee returned from the Earth Kingdom that I was able to make a difference. She had been overseas for two years, working to help rebuild the world, but she decided she had been away from home too long. Almost immediately after returning she told your brother she wanted to see you, and she was sent to me. After seeing you in your… unstable state, she convinced me that she knew what you needed, and we set about convincing the Firelord to release you into her custody. You owe her more than you know."

Surprised at the sudden and very personal shift in the conversation, Azula struggled to reply.

"She doesn't care about what happens to me. Ty Lee always felt the need to fix things, I am just another broken toy she wants to play with." Her words were bitter, softened none whatsoever by the fact that Azula knew they simply weren't true.

"You really think that?" Ning said looking intensely at Azula. "...I don't think you do."

The sky had begun to brighten over the course of their conversation, the stars disappearing and the clouds on the horizon becoming a deep pink. Azula heard footsteps, glancing away from Ning's piercing gaze, she looked over the diplomat's shoulder to see that Ty Lee had come up to greet Azula just like she did every morning regardless of where they were.

"Well, regardless," Ning said, looking behind Azula and gesturing towards the front of the ship. "I think we are all going to find out quite a bit today."

Azula turned towards the front of the ship. On the horizon there were dim masses of land appearing, and right in front of them, the tall spires of the Fire Nation capital. Azula's stomach clenched, after so long she was finally coming home.


	6. Chapter 6: Dust

**Author's Note:** I debated for a while how to end this chapter. I think I had three different endings typed up before I decided to go with this. And I actually wanted to make it longer, but then it would have been too long. There is more dialogue in this one, and we also get to see Zuko for the first time. I didn't want to focus on him too much though, instead I focused on plot progression (which also accounts for the small amount of TyZula, but next chapter will be more romantic). And there is a bit about Chinese characters in here, for those who know things about writing in eastern Asian languages I apologize for the slight fact altering. Anyway, enjoy! ^^

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><p>Azula looked up at the low lying mountain. The now dormant volcano was one of the symbols of Fire Nation aristocracy. The city was steeped in centuries of culture, and it was the place most of the Fire Nation's leaders had called home.<p>

Despite being a princess, upon arriving at the docks she found that no one had been sent from the palace and that there were no servants to bear her to the Fire Lord. It was a smart move, one that made sense in Zuko's position. He couldn't be seen as openly welcoming the person who was the most visible symbol of the old Fire Nation.

She was accompanied by Ty Lee and Ning, and surrounded by guards. The distance to the Fire Nation palace was very long, and as Azula walked her feet became heavier. Every now and then she thought she could see forms dancing around her in the sunlight. It was as if figures made of dust were passing in between the guards, their shadowy forms catching the morning light.

No one else took notice, so Azula gritted her teeth, keeping her eyes forward in an effort to ignore what she was sure were hallucinations. Her life might very well depend on her wit and appearance when she was presented to Zuko, she needed to stay focused, she needed...

She saw a little girl, it was herself riding in a palanquin with Ty Lee and Mai, not caring that her caretakers had told her she couldn't have 'lowly people' ride with her. She could see herself tall and proud, being praised as she was carried alone through the streets, hailed for having recently won the Academy tourney. She could see herself, Ty Lee, Mai, and Zuko returning from Ember Island in silence. Mai and Zuko were riding together, holding hands, but Ty Lee was walking alone with her shoulders slightly hunched over. Azula appeared oddly diffident, completely silent as she was carried to the palace. Azula knew that she may have appeared aloof at the time, but in reality her thoughts had been a tangled mess, and she had had to restrain herself from looking at Ty Lee.

Suddenly the winter wind rose, blowing dust into the princess's eyes. She raised a hand to rub it away, and when she lowered it the vision was gone, the moment lost in the unstoppable current of time.

The group had stopped, and Ty Lee was frowning at her slightly. Azula realized that she was standing still and must have been for some time.

"It's been such a long time. Well, I suppose we mustn't keep Zuzu waiting too long." Azula said, pulling her lips into a smirk as she started walking again. How long had she been standing there stuck in her trance?

The party finally reached the entrance to the tunnel that led through the mountain and towards the palace. The sun was still low on the horizon, so the capital was still mostly shrouded in darkness, but when they emerged from the tunnel Azula was still able to make out the city before her. Somehow, this didn't feel like a homecoming at all.

Instead of entering through the main gate, the one with a Fire Nation insignia larger than most buildings, they passed through a small postern situated a good distance from the main gate.

As they approached the palace, the large red and golden building looming above them, Ning began to speak.

"It is unlikely that the Fire Nation Council is in session this early. Most likely we will have to wait until later in the day, when the council is convened. The Earth Kingdom representatives will be there as well. For the time being, you will be held in one of the antechambers."

Ning nodded to the guards, making sure they understood the situation. The hairless diplomat then looked at Azula.

"Don't try anything, this is your best chance at redemption."

"As if. With Zuko in charge there probably isn't anything fun to do anyway." Ning had seemed to acquire a more authoritative air when they entered the capital city, and it rubbed Azula the wrong way. The princess smiled at the woman's retreating back. Azula hoped whatever she was scheming failed.

Once they were secured in a large waiting room just off the main rooms of the palace, Azula turned to Ty Lee.

"If you know anything about this Ty Lee, you need to tell me." Her voice was commanding, but not spiteful or domineering like it was with Ning.

Ty Lee was in the process of sitting down on a cushion on the floor.

"I know as much as you Azula. I was gone for two years after the war, and when I returned I didn't spend much time in politics. Only enough to get you." She said, sitting cross legged, her head resting on her hands as she stared at Azula.

The princess sat down on a large cushioned bench.

"Well I suppose you aren't perfect. Like I am." The princess smiled openly at the other girl. It didn't feel malicious, or unnatural. They were alone, just the two of them, and she was making what could be considered a joke at her own expense.

Ty Lee blinked several times, her face blank, as if making sure she hadn't read Azula's intentions wrong. But when Azula actually seemed to be enjoying the former acrobat's confusion, Ty Lee's face lit up and she smiled back at the princess.

"No. I'm not." She said simply.

Several hours passed, the only way to tell time being the changing of guards outside the room. Azula spent most of the time sitting and thinking, but Ty Lee napped for a while, and then began doing stretches after she woke up.

Finally, Azula heard voices outside, followed by a knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal Ning flanked by two more diplomats in red. Both of them were women.

"They're ready, follow me."

The diplomats and a handful of guards led the two of them down a dimly lit passageway towards the throne room. Ning nodded to the guards at the entrance and they pushed open the ornate doors, revealing the pillared room behind them.

There were two rows of people seated on either side of the large room. One side was made up of Fire Nation diplomats and soldiers, half of which appeared to be women. An equal number of them were clad in armor and in robes. So what Ning had said was true, the military was no longer a male only institution.

The other side of the conference however was made up entirely of men. Most were clad in some combination of green and yellow, there were a few aristocrats among them, but most were military men.

"Ah, the culprit. Now we can _finally _begin this inquiry in earnest." Said a bearded man in green.

But Azula wasn't listening. Her attention was focused solely on the person that was directly in front of her, seated at the end of the room. Her brother.

He was dressed in simple red robes, his hair was in a topknot, held in place by the royal headpiece. Zuko wasn't seated on the throne, but in front of it, on the same level as the council. His hand covered his mouth and he was silent, returning Azula's intense examination with one of his own.

"No, you stand here." Ning whispered, stopping Azula before she walked any further into the room. After making sure that Azula's guards and Ty Lee knew to do the same, Ning made her way towards the council and sat down among her fellow diplomats.

"Azula," Zuko said. All other voices in the room fell silent. "Do you know why you are here?"

"No, your majestic highness. Though Ning was a gracious host she failed to inform me of anything other than the fact that you are still as dull as ever." Azula replied, smiling politely at her brother.

"Princess, this will be much easier for you if you cooperate." Said a Fire Nation man. He was slightly older and had deep grey hair.

"You are here," Zuko said, straightening himself, "Because during reconstruction a soldier discovered a hidden base that you apparently operated deep within the Earth Kingdom. It seems that before father sent you to hunt down uncle and I, you had... other plans."

"Really? Well then perhaps you can tell me what those were, since I can't seem to remember."

Zuko sighed and looked over at an Earth Kingdom representative sitting beside him.

"We found an underground fortress." He was an older man, and his voice was rough. "Inside were plans and information about your hunt for the Phoenix Spirit." He looked up from a scroll he had been examining and raised his eyebrows at Azula.

"You can't be serious Zuzu?" Azula said looking back at her brother. "Searching for a spirit in the physical realm? Do I look like the Avatar?"

"Detailed notes, locations, even information about the spirit itself. It's very powerful supposedly." It was the rough voiced Earth Kingdom man again. She wanted to cram the scrolls down his throat.

"You think if I would have known about a powerful fire spirit I wouldn't have used it to my advantage? I would have burned your country to the ground if I could have, but unfortunately I don't know what you're talking about." She snapped at the old man.

She hadn't been this angry in months, and she was struggling to play the role of a submissive prisoner. Ty Lee had a worried expression on her face and Ning was simply staring at Azula, her eyebrows reaching a considerable distance back onto her hairless head.

"Azula, if you don't cooperate I will have no choice but to hold you in the palace until you do." Zuko said.

"In prison, until she learns some manners." A middle aged Earth Kingdom man said.

"No, she's not going‒" Zuko started, but Azula interrupted him.

"What?! You _cannot _imprison me for something I didn't do!"

"Well, we can always bring up the old war crime charges."

Zuko stood up, acting every inch the Fire Lord.

"Enough! We have dealt with that already ambassador. I am not going to try someone for the same crime twice."

But Azula couldn't hear him. She remembered prison. It felt oddly like the walls of this throne room. She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. She was seething, and she unconsciously channeled energy throughout her body, readying herself to fight and flee if need be.

The walls of her prison, her brother's summons, the demands of the diplomats, they all felt the same to her.

The room darkened unexpectedly, and Azula's gaze was drawn to the throne situated behind Zuko. The traditional fires had been lit somehow and through the flames she could see a figure staring at her. It was her father. He was scowling at her in disdain. It took everything she had to stop herself from kneeling before him.

"Azula. Azula!" Zuko was standing almost directly in front of her. "The council needs to discuss this alone. I will have the guards show you to your temporary quarters. Please."

He had added the please when it seemed like she would refuse. Ty Lee made as if to follow the guards and Azula.

"Ty Lee, we may need to question you about recent events if you don't mind." Zuko said, gesturing to a place near the Fire Nation diplomats. Ty Lee looked at Azula before moving to comply, and the princess was led out of the throne room without further issue.

* * *

><p>Azula paced impatiently in her new room. It wasn't anything like her old royal suite, but an arrangement she was quickly getting used to: no windows, sparse furnishings, and only one way in or out.<p>

She had been in the room for hours and the guards had refused to open the doors or tell her anything. Finally she sat down, exhausted mentally more than physically. Being here was like someone slowly turning a knife in her back. The palace had been her home off and on for years, it held memories of Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, father, and of course, her mother. She thought she had been prepared for this, but after seeing her father in the throne room she couldn't keep the memories at bay anymore.

Azula was sitting on the edge of the bed, tense and staring at the wall opposite of her when the door to her room opened. Azula looked up to see Ty Lee and Ning entering the room.

"Ty Lee." Azula felt relieved, and she wasn't quite sure she was able to keep that out of her voice. She looked from one to the other quickly before speaking. "Well? Is someone going to tell me what is going on?"

Ning took a deep breath before speaking.

"The council is on break at the moment. We have finished hearing testimony and reviewing evidence. We will reconvene in a few moments to do final deliberations... though I doubt that will change anything. Well, I should probably get back." She said moving towards the door.

Azula was about to call after her and demand she give her more information, but she bit her tongue. She had been forced to admit in the past that she wasn't the best judge of character, but she had a feeling that whatever Ning was scheming... it might actually be in her favor.

She stared at the closed door for several minutes before going to sit at a low lying table in the middle of the room.

"It's an ingenious plan really. I suppose I couldn't be tried before, but now that I pose a threat again they conjure up some scheme to get me locked away again." Azula looked up at Ty Lee. The girl hadn't moved and she seemed to be avoiding Azula's gaze. Azula narrowed her eyes.

"Ty Lee, what are you hiding?" Instead of immediately answering like Azula expected, she sat down beside the princess, pulled a scroll from behind her sash and unrolled it in front of them on the table.

"They showed me some scrolls from the compound... it's your handwriting Azula." She finally looked at Azula. She had a pained expression on her face, like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was, or at least not in the position she was in now.

"What?! You‒ you would betray me again? Even now?"

Azula half stood up.

"Get out Ty Lee."

"No!" Ty Lee jerked Azula back down into a sitting position. "I know your handwriting better than anyone! And I wouldn't betray you, not now..." Shocked by Ty Lee's sudden outburst and the angry but determined expression on her face, Azula looked at the scroll on the table.

She skimmed over the characters, paying close attention to the stroke placement and curvature. On the side of the scroll there was a note written in the margins. The writing was rushed and so the personal qualities of the writing were amplified. It was definitely her handwriting.

"This ‒ I couldn't have done this." Azula looked up from the paper. "I am telling the truth Ty Lee. I never went to the Earth Kingdom to search for a spirit."

Ty Lee looked confused, like she was poised between disbelief and trusting Azula.

"You know, when I decided to return to the Fire Nation I told myself the only way this was going to work was if we both trusted each other." Ty Lee looked down at the scroll again.

"_I am not lying!_" Azula put as much weight in her words as she could.

"That's not what I meant... I know it might be hard for you to trust me, but I think the first step to making that happen... may be putting my trust in you first. Like I once did."

Ty Lee looked up from the paper on the table. She was smiling weakly at Azula.

"I believe you Azula. Whatever's happening, I believe you."

Azula blinked, she didn't know how to respond and so she ended up looking away from Ty Lee and clenching her jaw.

"Thank you Ty Lee." Azula was unable to keep her voice steady, and her reply came out forced and uneven. Azula heard Ty Lee move beside her, and she felt the acrobat put an arm around her. At first Azula just sat there stiffly, but eventually her muscles loosened and she relaxed into Ty Lee's embrace.

Trust. Was it truly for fools?


	7. Chapter 7: Visions

**Author's Note:** I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It's the one I have had the most fun with honestly. I realized the other day that this story is quickly becoming much more than I originally planned. Which is fine, like Bryan Konietzko said, sometimes you just get swept up by the characters, and they take you places you didn't originally intend to go. It's something I am experiencing for the first time since this is my first committed fic, and quite frankly it's a beautiful feeling! Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my story, I hope you enjoy it! ^^

* * *

><p>Azula was sitting in front of a table, leafing through several sheets of paper that were strewn in front of her. After Azula's moment with Ty Lee the day before, Ning had returned to tell them that due to Azula's lack of cooperation she was to be confined in the palace indefinitely, or at least until the council thought that the princess and the spirit she had been looking for were no longer a threat. Upon hearing that, Azula had demanded that she be allowed to view the evidence. Confining her wasn't necessarily illegal, and neither was keeping her uninformed of the evidence against her, but she knew that attacking Zuko's vaunted principles would make him look hypocritical in the eyes of his supporters. It had worked, and several crates of papers and scrolls that the council thought trivial enough to give her were carted to her room early the next morning.<p>

The princess chewed absentmindedly on some fruit while she looked over the papers. She looked up at the two guards in the room, she supposed they were there to make sure that she didn't burn any of the _evidence_, but it was a moot point really, the council must have been prepared to lose them as soon as they sent them to her.

After the papers and scrolls had been brought to her, she had demanded clean paper and her writing tools from when she still lived in the palace. It had taken some convincing and browbeating, but eventually the guards had had a servant search her old things, and her tools had been found.

And so she had spent most of the morning reading and transcribing the contents of a handful of scrolls, copying the characters in an effort to find some flaw in the forgery. It wouldn't clear her of all suspicion, but at the very least it would cast doubt on the validity of the scrolls.

But she had given up after the first few hours. No matter how long she searched, or how many characters she rewrote, she couldn't find any signs of forgery. During her time on Ember Island she had had many conversations with Ty Lee... or Ty Lee would talk, and Azula would comment occasionally. During those conversations she had found that she couldn't remember some of the things that Ty Lee had talked about, but it had mostly been things from during her hospitalization. Was it possible that she had forgotten something from before? Something as far back as four years ago?

Azula put down her writing brush and rubbed her forehead. She was getting no where, and she could feel a genuine headache coming on.

Suddenly the door to her room opened and Zuko entered. He looked rested compared to the day before, and he didn't seem quite as assertive either.

"Splendid. Zuzu has come to visit me after having imprisoned me... why does that seem familiar?"

"I want to talk to my sister alone." He said looking at the two guards. After they left Zuko sat down at the table, opposite of Azula.

"How are you feeling?" He had a sincere look on his face, but Azula wasn't buying it.

"Am I supposed to believe you care?"

"I didn't put you in the hospital to torture you Azula, I put you in there because I wanted you to get better."

"I hate to tell you Zuzu, but it didn't work."

"I know. We've both made some mistakes, and I'm sorry for what happened in there." Azula couldn't decide if he was being serious, or just trying to get her guard down so that she might let something about her 'plans' slip.

"If we're talking about mistakes we should talk about this trial, if it can be called that." Azula was looking pointedly at her brother.

"I see you have been looking at the scrolls I sent you." He was looking over the papers strewn on the table. He seemed somewhat puzzled by the multiple copies of the same passage.

"You wrote these?" He said picking up two copies of the same paper. One was fresh, the ink standing out against the paper, the other's ink was slightly faded.

Azula cringed inwardly.

"Have you talked to Ty Lee?" Azula didn't care if it was obvious that she was trying to divert her brother, having Zuko closely examining the two almost identical papers wasn't going to help her any.

"Yeah, I did. She's happy for some reason... and she believes you."

"Well then, I don't think I need to tell you that she would never be part of a conspiracy to destroy the country she helped rebuild for two years." She knew Zuko must trust Ty Lee, the girl had convinced him to release her after all.

"No, she wouldn't. I don't doubt her sincerity, I'm just worried you might be manipulating and deluding her again."

Azula narrowed her eyes at her brother.

"Do you remember your search for the Avatar, Zuzu? When I found you, you were a scared and confused little boy. And yet look at you now." She bared her teeth in a smile. "I don't care if you keep me locked in this palace for eternity, but don't presume to judge Ty Lee, or my relationship with her."

Zuko sat up straighter, and he looked genuinely surprised.

While they were staring at each other, Ty Lee walked into the room.

"I was just at the kitchen ‒ oh, good morning Zuko... did I interrupt something?" Ty Lee said, looking slowly from one sibling to the other.

"Not really. Zuzu said he was going to come back later."

Ty Lee frowned slightly at door as it closed before she turned to Azula.

"You should try to be nicer to‒" She stopped when Azula glowered at her. "Or at least more civil? It's not like he actually wants you to be guilty."

"Even if he did think I was innocent, he couldn't do anything. He doesn't have enough leverage to stand up to the Earth Kingdom." Azula said as Ty Lee sat down next to her. The girl was turned sideways leaning on the table when she spoke next.

"...And what about being nicer because he's your brother?"

"We've always been at each others' throats... I don't think either of us are willing to forgive and forget."

"You might be surprised about Zuko. And besides, you forgave me."

"You and I were actually friends. Zuko may have been my brother, but we were never friends. Anyway, you're different Ty Lee." Azula said moving closer to the table and picking up a paper again.

"Different?" Ty Lee was smiling at her curiously.

"Yes, different."

Azula was trying to read the paper in her hand when Ty Lee came over and knelt behind her. The princess felt Ty Lee's arms encircling her from behind, and Azula's heart skipped a beat when Ty Lee spoke right next to her ear.

"Different how?"

Azula put down the now crumpled piece of paper, and tried to remove Ty Lee's arms from her midriff.

"Ty Lee, you're being too clingy."

Ty Lee laughed as she rested her chin on Azula's shoulder.

"If you don't want me to hug you, all you have to do is tell me."

Azula stopped struggling and closed her eyes. She was just glad Ty Lee couldn't see how flushed her face was.

* * *

><p>The day had dragged on, morning had changed into afternoon, and afternoon into evening. Azula didn't actually have any way to tell the time, but the movement of the guards outside her room gave her a general idea.<p>

Ty Lee had been in and out of her room all day. The girl had brought her lunch, and had even helped Azula read over some of the scrolls that were stacked next to the table before she had left to meet someone. At that point Azula had been trying to learn as much as she could about the supposed spirit and its location. If this was all something that she had forgotten, reading‒ or rereading the scrolls might help jog her memory.

None of the scrolls containing important information had been sent to her room. Most of them gave vague accounts of forays in the Earth Kingdom, or were manifests for supplies. Azula was able to glean the general location that the spirit had been tracked down to however. It was supposedly somewhere in the southeastern part of the country, close to the Si Wong Desert. Azula had heard about Avatar Aang's encounter with Wan Shi Tong in the desert, but the Fire Nation had found the library long ago. Even if the charges against her were partially true, she doubted the two were connected.

Azula didn't look up when the door opened, she felt she was onto something and started to shuffle through the papers on the table looking for the map that she had had earlier.

Azula could hear Ty Lee's soft foot steps approaching before she sat down at the table.

"It's getting late Azula. Do you want to stop?"

"I have some things that need to be done before I go to sleep. You should go back to your room if it's that late Ty Lee."

"Azula... I know you didn't sleep last night..."

Azula didn't think the guards had looked in on her the night before, but maybe they had. She had tried to sleep at first, lying down in the large bed, but as soon as she had fallen asleep she had had nightmares about her father and mother. When she was asleep it was like she had been trapped in her dreams, forced to endure the horrors over and over again. After she had been wrenched awake by a particularly bloody encounter with her father, she had resolved not to sleep again and had gotten out of bed.

"Don't worry yourself Ty Lee, I don't need that much sleep anyway." Azula hadn't looked up from her search for the map during the conversation, and a few seconds later she uncovered it. She took the map of the Earth Kingdom and spread it out in front of her. The mountains on the eastern edge of the Si Wong Desert weren't labeled, but she felt like she should know their name...

"If you don't sleep your aura will get even worse than it already is."

Azula looked up at Ty Lee.

"My aura? You haven't talked about that nonsense in a while"

"It's not nonsense! And I didn't mention it because your aura was really bright for a while, but now... now I think it's beginning to affect your health Azula."

Azula rolled her eyes and looked back down at the table.

"You're distracting me Ty Lee." She picked up the map, wondering why the name of the mountains was so elusive.

"Well. I guess I'll leave then." Ty Lee said haughtily, as she got up to leave.

Azula felt a brief pang of regret at having teased Ty Lee. Despite their close relationship, sometimes Azula still didn't know how to react to the acrobat.

Azula was still examining the map when the door opened again moments later. Ty Lee had returned, this time she had a bundle of clothes with her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I wanted to sleep here tonight. It will make me feel better, and I will be here if you need me."

"Not that I care, but you do know that will start an uproar?"

"Everybody knows we're close friends. And besides, I lived in the Earth Kingdom for two years. People in the Earth Kingdom have strange customs." Ty Lee had begun to change into her pajamas as she talked. Azula couldn't help but look at the girl as she undressed. She wasn't a girl, she was a woman. Her form was slim, but strong: she possessed strength and grace that only years of training as an acrobat could give. Even clad in nothing Ty Lee was beautiful, but her body was covered in scars.

Those scars... even if Azula hadn't done so openly, she had tried to protect Ty Lee, but she had still been hurt despite Azula's best efforts... and some of the scars had actually been given by her. Some of them she didn't recognize. Azula didn't feel guilt per se, she could truthfully say that she hadn't started the war, but she had most certainly drug Ty Lee into it. It left her feeling empty, like the pain Ty Lee endured was somehow eating away at her as well.

"Good night Ty Lee." She said softly, looking back down at her papers as Ty Lee got dressed and slipped into bed.

* * *

><p>Azula had stopped putting any real effort into reading the scrolls when Ty Lee had returned. Even so the princess had sat at the table for several hours after Ty Lee had gone to bed, mulling over her options as she tried to find a way out of her situation. Short of breaking out of the palace, which would endanger both her and Ty Lee's lives, regardless of whether or not Azula chose to involve Ty Lee in any plans to escape, she only had one option: wait. The only other thing to do would be to get access to some of the <em>important <em>scrolls, ones that were more specific and detailed. But that would have to wait till morning.

Azula stood up and stretched. She had been sitting all day, she was very sore and also very tired.

She walked quietly over to the side of the bed. Ty Lee was sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling slowly as she breathed.

Azula exhaled and walked over to the mostly empty wardrobe sitting against the wall. Azula knew she needed to sleep, and if she was ever going to sleep peacefully, it would be beside Ty Lee.

Azula quickly changed and undid her hair. Someone had apparently forgotten that she was actually human, and hadn't bothered to bring her any brushes. The princess did the best she could combing out her long hair with her fingers, scowling slightly at her reflection in the small mirror placed on the wardrobe's door.

She returned to the bed and crawled under the sheets, lying down next to Ty Lee and gently pulling the woman closer to her. Ty Lee must have been dreaming or half asleep, because when Azula stopped moving Ty Lee mumbled her name and wrapped her arms around the princess, burying her face in Azula's shoulder.

After a few moments Azula pressed her head against Ty Lee's and closed her eyes. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep. Ty Lee's breath brushed lightly against Azula's collarbone, and she could feel the acrobat's steady heartbeat through her chest. Azula decided it might be alright if things stayed like this for a little while longer. She might... even let Ty Lee sleep here again... tomorrow night...

* * *

><p>Azula slowly opened her eyes. She felt cold for some reason, her body was stiff, and the bed beneath her felt much harder than she remembered. Blinking, she pushed herself up on her elbows and looked around, trying to discern what was going on.<p>

She was instantly jarred awake by her surroundings. She was definitely not in the palace anymore, and Ty Lee was no where to be seen.

She was in what appeared to be a large natural passage in a cavern. Rough rock formations formed a meandering tunnel that was dotted with stalactites and stalagmites which were made up of a glowing green crystal.

Azula's mind raced, trying to process where she could be and what could have possibly happened. She stood up, trying to work the stiffness out of her joints and warm her muscles. She took a deep breath and attempted to breath fire in an effort to warm herself, but before she even completed the movement she knew it was useless. She couldn't bend.

She stamped down her fears. Ty Lee had told her about how Avatar Aang had taken away her father's bending, permanently, but that was a fate she thought she had avoided. She trembled with restrained emotion. She wanted to scream and cry at the same time. Bending was her life.

After several long minutes she had mastered her emotions well enough to think, and chose a direction at random. She put one foot in front of the other, and started walking down the passage. Where ever she was she had to get out of here.

She continued walking and after a while the passage started to climb upwards. The crystal formations were decreasing in number, and it was becoming harder to see where she was going. She thought she could see a dim light ahead, maybe she was close to the surface. Suddenly her foot caught on something in the dark, and an instant before she fell she realized she was on the edge of sharp decline.

She brought her arms up to shield herself as she crashed downwards. When she reached the bottom, the princess groaned as she pushed herself up, brushing her hair out of her eyes. When she looked up she saw an old man with his back to her brewing tea over a fire.

"You, who are you? Where are we?" He started humming, but didn't seem to be paying any attention to her. "Old man!" But it was useless.

She had just struggled into a sitting position when something outside the ring of light cast by the fire moved. Azula jerked her head towards the movement, her body ready for action.

Suddenly a huge form moved into the light. It was an enormous creature, standing more than thirty meters tall. It didn't seem to be concerned with the old man or the fire, but instead walked over to her, lowering its head down to look at Azula closely.

Azula sat frozen in place. She had fought sea monsters and other creatures, but this being was something else entirely. It emanated energy in enormous amounts, energy she could feel permeating herself as if she were some type of absorbent for its power. She didn't dare antagonize this... _thing_, whatever it was, especially not while she was trapped in a cave.

The beast moved closer to her, positioning itself directly in front of her so that it could stare directly into her golden eyes with its own red ones. Azula heard the old man behind them speak, but she wasn't paying attention.

She continued to look into its eyes, and slowly she began to feel a strange sensation. She felt like she was literally being pulled into the creature's eyes, like the red orb she was gazing into was the earth and she had been dropped from the heavens towards it. When it seemed like she couldn't fall any faster she began to see visions. What seemed like months worth of experiences and knowledge passed before her eyes in an instant.

She was hurtling towards the red eyes in front of her at an insane speed, about to collide with them, when she screamed.

* * *

><p>Azula jerked upright in her bed in the palace. She was breathing like she had been deprived of air for days, she was soaked in sweat, and she had a horrendously splitting headache. But she had remembered. She had definitely remembered.<p> 


End file.
